Sigeumchi Namul (Korean Spinach Side Dish)

 
Sigeumchi namul (시금치나물) is a simple Korean side dish (banchan, 반찬) made with spinach. Namul is the general term that refers to a seasoned vegetable dish, and sigeumchi means spinach in Korean. 

 

There are an infinite number of vegetables that are made into nauml dishes in Korea. Spinach is one of the most common ones. It typically is served as part of the three color vegetable dishes (samsaek namul) served on traditional holidays. Sigeumchi namul is also highly common in bibimbap.

Although the cooking time and seasonings vary, making namul dishes with green leafy vegetables usually involves blanching the vegetables and squeezing out the water content, followed by seasoning with a few basic ingredients. If you have these simple techniques down, you can make namul dishes with many different vegetables!  Try it with baby kale, watercress, snow pea tips, etc. 

 

 

As I usually do for my bibimbap recipe, you can simply season the spinach with salt along with some minced garlic, sesame oil and sesame seeds. 

 

You can also season the spinach with guk ganjang, 국간장 (Korean soup soy sauce) instead of salt. Guk ganjang is a byproduct of making doenjang, 된장 (Korean fermented soybean paste). While it’s better known as soy sauce for soups, it’s also commonly used in namul dishes, especially in country cooking. It adds a little umami boost to the vegetables!

 

Another ingredient that’s great for sigeumchi namul is gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste). Gochujang gives so much flavor and a little spicy kick!

 

Try all these different options and let me know which one is your favorite.